Apocalypse Grumps

Please... Let Her Stay

"What do you think's holding them up?" asked Ross.

Arin gave him a shrug, Ross then rolled his eyes and walked away. We were all slightly concerned for the couple's absence. The nurse said that Mark would be okay to return to us today, so Danny went to go get him on foot himself. I knew that nothing bad could've happened to them, but that thought still nagged at the back of my mind.

To take my mind off it, I look around to see if anything interesting was going on, and I noticed Jack and Ross sitting next to each other and talking. It took me somewhat by surprise that they weren't bickering at each other like they normally did. It had become a routine; Ross would poke fun at how Jack doesn't remember much, Jack will yell at him, and then proceed to chase Ross around the camp. But no, they were sitting on one of the logs we found and stuck near the camp fire and they were just... talking. I couldn't tell what they were talking about, considering they were out of earshot, but whatever it was made Ross howl with laughter. They genuinely seemed to be enjoying each other's company. I thought that maybe I could go over there and talk to them, but they seem to be having enough fun on their own. I don't want to ruin it with my sudden presence.

"What's up, Kev?"

Suzy strolled up beside me with a large smile, as if she was pleased to see me.

"Nothin'," I start. "I was just kinda spying on Jack and Ross. They seem to be getting along quite well." Suzy takes a look over, and a smirk starts to tug at her lips.

"Yeah, they do. That's sweet that they're getting along. It's better than them yelling at each other." she chuckles a bit. "What if they became the next cute couple in the group." she spoke under her breath. My head whipped around and she began to giggle. "I'm joking!" she playfully punched me and walked off towards Arin who was sitting on the ground quietly.

Speaking of Arin, he's been oddly quiet lately. Usually he's loud and confidant, but something on his mind must be getting him down in a way. Maybe he feels guilty for shooting Mark? But it's not just that, he seems to be ignoring Danny as well. They don't talk and joke with each other as much as they used to. I hope they don't fight because of Mark again. That would be devastating. Especially with how attached Mark and Danny seem to be. They seriously are the cuddliest couple I've ever seen.

Almost on cue, I see two figures walking towards our camp who I recognize as the one and only Mark and Danny. But there seems to be a third figure on Danny's shoulders. Well maybe they found supplies on their walk back and Danny's just carrying it on his shoulders? But as they walked closer, it became clear what the mysterious object on Danny's shoulders was; a child.

---

"Dan," Arin spoke sternly when we walked into camp, his eyebrows furrowed. "why is there a child on your back?"

He shifted nervously a bit before he answered, "This is River. She's lost and doesn't know where her parents are. So, Mark and I thought we could take her in."

There was a long pause as Arin and Dan had a stare off. Arin's glare versus Danny's nervous look. You could tell he didn't want to give up the kid just by looking at him. He had this hopeful look in his eyes and he was even starting to shake.

Arin sighed, "Dan, we can't keep a kid here-"

"We have to!" Dan interrupted him. "Come on, man! She's four years old and has no one to take care of her! She'll die out there, Arin!"

"Well then how the fuck are we gonna take care of her, huh? We can barely feed ourselves, do you honestly think we'll be able to feed a toddler?!"

"It's better than being on the streets by herself and slowly starving to death!"

"We're rebels, Dan! She's no better with us than she is on the streets! We are wanted by the government and you think we can keep this kid safe?!"

"She needs parents, Arin! And Mark and I are willing to fill that gap!"

"No, Dan. You need to take her to some kind of an orphanage. Hell, back to the hospital. Just get her out of here."

Arin began to walk away when Dan spoke under his breath, grabbing Arin's attention back to him.

"What did you just say?"

"I said no." Dan's voice was firm, and angry. He glared daggers at Arin.

"Excuse me, but I'm your leader. And I order you to put that kid into an orphanage." he spat through his teeth as he stomped closer and closer to Dan, who was standing his ground.

"I don't care if you're my leader. I am not getting rid of my daughter."

Everyone fell silent. Arin's face twisted from anger, to shock, and back to anger. I could anticipate that he was gonna throw a punch at him, so I knew I had to intervene.

"Arin, please," I began whilst stepping in front of Danny to protect him and River. "first it's whether or not I'm going to murder you guys and now it's if Danny and I can adopt a kid we found with no parents or any person with her in sight? I know, this isn't the ideal environment for raising a child, but it's the best we have. She doesn't have a family or anyone to protect her, and bringing her to the hospital would be just as worse as abandoning her on the streets. You may not be completely on board with this, but you can't just leave her to die. Please, just... just leave her to us."

I could feel my heart pumping in my chest. I wasn't even really on board with the whole 'kids' thing, or at least as much as Danny was, but I knew he wanted this. He wanted to be a father, and I'm going to help him achieve this no matter what.

Arin looked at me, then Danny, then River. His expression started to melt from an angry glare to a slight worry. He groaned, "Fine. She can stay."

Instead of loud, giddy laughs, all I heard was a soft "Thank you," from Danny and the occasionally hiccup from the tears he was shedding. Hopefully, from how happy he was.

Danny then set River down on the dirt and knelt down before her while I followed in suit, "River, you're gonna be staying with us now. We're your daddies, but you can call us Danny and Mark. Can you say 'Danny and Mark'?" he asked in a calm tone. She stuttered a bit, but then finally let out the words, "Dinny an' Mack."

Neither of us cared how she pronounced it. We simply smiled and hugged our daughter.